High-street calendar

LAST Easter, they had a sheep trail in the shop windows of Town
Street, Farsley, in the Leeds area of West Yorkshire &
the Dales diocese. This December, even more shops are
involved, and St John's has organised a shop window Advent
calendar. Shops are opening their windows one by one this month to
show images from the nativity story, from Herod having a bad-hair
day, in the hairdresser's, to a googly-eyed camel, in the
optician's. Children have been intrigued (above,
right).

"We've created 24 acetate 'stained-glass windows'," the
Priest-in-Charge at St John's, the Revd Paul Tudge, says. "The aim
is to keep the community going to local shops so that Town Street
remains vibrant, and, as they are all based on the Christmas story,
it's to help people keep in mind what we are really celebrating at
this time of year."

The windows have been designed by six local artists, including
Mr Tudge's wife, Rosie, and it follows on from the very successful
sheep trail. "It's become a big thing in Farsley," Mr Tudge says,
"because so many more shops and businesses wanted to get involved
this time. We've also produced another 24 images, which contain a
detail of each of the main images - such as a shepherd's foot or a
sheep's tail - so children can have fun trying to link them up with
the original window."